Driving Roads in Tennessee

Explore scenic and exciting driving roads across Tennessee.

Cherohala Skyway

United States

83 /100

36 kmUS

East Tennessee Crossing

United States

30 /100

134 kmUS

Lookout Mountain Parkway

United States

57 /100

10 kmUS

Natchez Trace Parkway

Driving in Tennessee

Eastern Tennessee contains the state's most concentrated mountain driving, where the Great Smoky Mountains and Unicoi Mountains create steep grades, frequent curves, wooded valleys, and high overlooks. Well-known routes include US 129 near the North Carolina line, the Cherohala Skyway, Newfound Gap Road through Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and sections of the Foothills Parkway. Farther west, the Cumberland Plateau offers long ridge roads, escarpment climbs, waterfalls, and forested backroads around areas such as Fall Creek Falls and the Upper Cumberland. Middle Tennessee becomes gentler but remains varied, with rolling Highland Rim roads, limestone valleys, and rural routes around Nashville and the Tennessee River. In the west, terrain flattens toward the Mississippi River, although the Natchez Trace Parkway and roads through wooded river country provide relaxed scenic driving. Road character can change quickly between mountain corridors, park roads, and ordinary state highways.